# List of University of South Carolina people

This list of University of South Carolina people includes alumni that are graduates or non-matriculating students, and former professors and administrators of the University of South Carolina, with its primary campus located in the American city of Columbia, South Carolina.

## Alumni
### Arts, entertainment, and media

| Name | Class year | Notes |
| Amanda Baker | 2001 | actress on General Hospital soap opera |
| Chazwick Bundick | 2009 | a.k.a. Toro Y Moi, musician |
| Mel Byars | 1960 | book author, journalist, professor, and Besterman/McColvin Gold Medal winner |
| Wilson Casey | 1977 | syndicated columnist, book author, and Guinness World Record holder |
| Mike Colter | 1998 | actor |
| Rita Cosby | 1989 | host of MSNBC's Rita Cosby Live and three-time Emmy Award winner |
| James McBride Dabbs | 1916 | regional author and civil rights activist |
| Alex Daniels | 1978 | stunt coordinator and actor, Borat, The Guardian, Dodgeball |
| Harry Dent | 1975 | economist and writer |
| Ainsley Earhardt | 1999 | anchor for Fox News Weekend TV program |
| Lynette Eason | 1989 | award-winning Christian novelist |
| Charles Frazier | 1986 | author of the best-selling novel Cold Mountain |
| Lilian Garcia | 1988 | singer and WWE ring announcer |
| Leeza Gibbons | 1978 | actress and former host of Entertainment Tonight TV program, three-time Emmy winner |
| Ernest Greene | 2009 | musician; 2009 graduate with a Master's of Library and Information Science |
| Lauren Michelle Hill | 2000 | actress; February 2001 Playboy Playmate of the Month |
| Jim Hoagland | 1961 | columnist and former chief foreign correspondent of The Washington Post; two-time Pulitzer Prize winner |
| Hootie and the Blowfish | | all four band members attended the University; drummer Jim Sonefeld played on the UofSC soccer team |
| Jesse Hughes | | musician in Eagles of Death Metal group |
| Jasper Johns | | artist; attended 1947–48; did not graduate |
| Cheslie Kryst | | attorney, journalist, Miss USA 2019 winner; also played the UofSC track team |
| Amos Lee | 1999 | singer, songwriter, and folk guitarist |
| Alicia Leeke | before 1995 | artist, journalist |
| Bruce Littlefield | 1989 | author, lifestyle expert |
| Blue Sky | 1964 | painter and sculptor responsible for the mural Tunnelvision |
| W. Thomas Smith, Jr. | 1982 | author and columnist |
| E. Lee Spence | 1976 | author, editor, and pioneer underwater archaeologist who discovered the wreck of the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley in 1970 |
| Stephen Towns | 2004 | artist |
| Patrick Tyler | 1974 | chief foreign correspondent for The New York Times |
| Matt Watson | 1996 | Youtube, Supermega, Kids with Problems, Cyndago |
| Van Earl Wright | 1984 | anchor for Fox Sports TV programs |

### Athletics

| Name | Class year | Notes |
| Dick Sheridan | 1964 | former head football coach at North Carolina State University and Furman University |
| Dale Steele | 1976 | former head football coach at Campbell University |
| Charlie Weis | M.A. 1989 | head football coach at the University of Kansas; former head coach of the University of Notre Dame |

#### Baseball

| Name | Letter years | Notes |
| Kent Anderson | 1982–1984 | retired MLB infielder |
| Jackie Bradley Jr. | 2009–2011 | outfielder for the Toronto Blue Jays |
| Billy Buckner | 2004 | retired right-handed pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks |
| Brian Buscher | 2002–2003 | retired infielder for the Minnesota Twins; assistant coach for Gamecock baseball team (2011–) |
| Jon Coutlangus | 2002–2003 | retired left-handed pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks |
| Tripp Cromer | 1987–1989 | retired MLB infielder |
| Adam Everett | 1997–1998 | retired shortstop for the Cleveland Indians; member of gold medal-winning 2000 United States Olympic baseball team |
| Lee Gronkiewicz | 1999–2001 | retired pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays |
| Ed Lynch | 1974–1977 | retired pitcher for the New York Mets and Chicago Cubs; general manager for the Cubs |
| Marcus McBeth | 1999–2001 | retired MLB pitcher |
| Kevin Melillo | 2002–2004 | retired infielder for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim |
| Whit Merrifield | 2008–2012 | second baseman and outfielder for the Toronto Blue Jays |
| Drew Meyer | 2000–2002 | retired shortstop for the Texas Rangers |
| Steve Pearce | 2004–2005 | first baseman for the Boston Red Sox |
| Brian Roberts | 1999 | retired infielder for the Baltimore Orioles |
| Justin Smoak | 2006–2008 | first baseman for the Toronto Blue Jays |
| Christian Walker | 2010–2012 | first baseman for the Arizona Diamondbacks |
| Mookie Wilson | 1977 | retired center fielder for the New York Mets |

#### Men's basketball

| Name | Letter years | Notes |
| Renaldo Balkman | 2004–2006 | NBA player |
| Tom Boswell | 1975 | former NBA player |
| Mike Brittain | 1982–1985 | former NBA player |
| Bobby Cremins | 1968–1970 | former Georgia Tech and current College of Charleston head basketball coach |
| Mike Dunleavy, Sr. | 1973–1976 | former NBA player, head coach and general manager of the Los Angeles Clippers |
| Chuck Eidson | 1999–2003 | former MVP of the German Basketball Bundesliga and player in Eurocup |
| Alex English | 1973–1976 | NBA Hall of Famer (highest scorer in the 1980s and seventh all-time scorer with 25,343 points) |
| Jo Jo English | 1989–1992 | former NBA player, top scorer in the 1999–2000 Israel Basketball League |
| Jim Fox | 1964–1965 | former NBA player |
| Gary Gregor | 1965, 1967–1968 | former NBA player |
| Skip Harlicka | 1965–1968 | former NBA player |
| Kevin Joyce | 1971–1973 | former ABA player |
| Tre' Kelley | 2004–2007 | player in the Croatian league |
| Tarence Kinsey | 2003–2006 | NBA player, now plays for Hapoel Jerusalem of the Israeli Premier League |
| BJ McKie | 1996–1999 | three-time All-SEC basketball player; the school's all-time leading scorer |
| Tom Owens | 1969–1971 | former NBA player |
| Brent Price | 1988–1989 | former NBA player |
| Tom Riker | 1970–1972 | former NBA player |
| John Roche | 1969–1971 | former NBA player |
| Scott Sanderson | 1981–1984 | head basketball coach at Lipscomb University |
| Chris Silva | | played in the NBA, now plays in the Israeli Basketball Premier League |
| Ryan Stack | 1995–1998 | former NBA player |
| Brandon Wallace | 2004–2007 | former NBA player |
| Jamie Watson | 1991–1994 | former NBA player |
| Brian Winters | 1972–1974 | former NBA player, coach of WNBA's Indiana Fever |

#### Football

| Name | Letter years | Notes |
| John Abraham | 1996–1999 | NFL player |
| Tom Addison | 1955–1957 | American Football League All-Star (Boston Patriots) and founder of American Football League Players Association |
| Ronald Edwin Bass | 1973–1977 | former USC football player and member of the 1971 T. C. Williams High School from Remember the Titans |
| Sheldon Brown | 1998–2001 | former NFL player |
| Jadeveon Clowney | 2011–2013 | NFL player |
| Chris Culliver | 2007–2010 | NFL player |
| Justice Cunningham | 2009–2012 | 2013 Mr. Irrelevant |
| Mark Dantonio | 1976–1978 | current Michigan State University head football coach |
| Zola Davis | 1995–1998 | NFL and XFL player |
| Patrick DiMarco | 2007–2010 | former NFL player |
| Brad Edwards | 1984–1987 | former NFL player and athletic director of George Mason University |
| Kalimba Edwards | 1998–2001 | former NFL player |
| Stephon Gilmore | 2009–2011 | NFL player |
| Harold Green | 1986–1989 | former NFL player |
| Tori Gurley | 2009–2010 | NFL player |
| Darren Hambrick | 1996–1997 | former NFL player |
| Alex Hawkins | 1956–1958 | former NFL player and ACC Player of the Year in 1958 |
| DeVonte Holloman | 2009–2012 | NFL player |
| Melvin Ingram | 2009–2011 | NFL player |
| Alshon Jeffery | 2009–2011 | NFL player |
| Corey Jenkins | 2001–2002 | former NFL player |
| Johnathan Joseph | 2004–2005 | NFL player |
| Cliff Matthews | 2009–2010 | NFL player |
| Kenny McKinley | 2005–2008 | former NFL player |
| Langston Moore | 1999–2002 | former NFL player |
| Eric Norwood | 2006–2009 | NFL player |
| Willie Offord | 1998–2001 | former NFL player |
| Andrew Provence | 1979–1982 | former NFL player |
| Dan Reeves | 1962–1964 | former NFL player and head coach |
| Sidney Rice | 2005–2006 | NFL player |
| Dunta Robinson | 2001–2003 | NFL player |
| Marcus Robinson | 1993–1994, 1996 | former NFL player |
| George Rogers | 1977–1980 | former No. 1 draft pick in the NFL, 1980 Heisman Trophy winner |
| Weslye Saunders | 2009–2010 | NFL player |
| Sterling Sharpe | 1983, 1985–1987 | former NFL player and ESPN football analyst |
| Ko Simpson | 2004–2005 | NFL player |
| Duce Staley | 1995–1996 | former NFL player and Gamecock Radio Network sideline reporter |
| Ryan Succop | 2005–2008 | kicker, 2009 Mr. Irrelevant |
| Rod Trafford | 1999–2001 | NFL player |
| Travelle Wharton | 2000–2003 | NFL player |
| Troy Williamson | 2002–2004 | NFL player |

#### Men's soccer

| Name | Letter years | Notes |
| Brad Guzan | 2003–2004 | goalkeeper for Middlesbrough in the Premier League |
| Tim Hankinson | 1973–1977 | head coach of the San Antonio Scorpions in the North American Soccer League |
| Clint Mathis | 1994–1997 | retired forward for Real Salt Lake in Major League Soccer |
| Josh Wolff | 1995–1997 | forward for D.C. United in Major League Soccer |

#### Other sports

| Name | Letter years | Notes |
| Aleen Bailey | 2002–2003 | Olympic gold medalist |
| Dawn Ellerbe | 1993–1997 | track-and-field champion, United States Olympian |
| Otis Harris | 2001–2004 | Olympic gold and silver medalist |
| Shannon Johnson | 1992–1996 | second all-time leading scorer in women's basketball history (2,230 points), member of gold medal-winning 2004 U.S. Olympic basketball team, and four-time WNBA all-star |
| Terrence Trammell | 1998–2000 | Olympic silver medalist in 2000 and 2004; world champion in 60-meter hurdles |
| Tonique Williams-Darling | 1997–1998 | Olympic gold medalist in 2004 in the 400 meters for the Bahamian team |

### Business, education, and sciences

| Name | Class year | Notes |
| Rick Brewer | Ph.D. in educational administration | President of Louisiana College in Pineville, Louisiana, since 2015; administrator at Charleston Southern University in North Charleston, 1987–2015 |
| Joseph Burckhalter | 1934 | retired as Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of Michigan and member of the National Inventors Hall of Fame |
| Bryan Coker | YM.Ed. in higher education | 12th president of Maryville College in Maryville, Tennessee |
| Charles Dallara | 1970 | international economist and managing director for the Institute of International Finance |
| Mohammed Dajani Daoudi | Ph.D. in government, 1981 | Palestinian professor and peace activist |
| David F. Houston | 1887 | president of Texas A&M and the University of Texas; chancellor of Washington University in St. Louis |
| William "Hootie" Johnson | 1953 | chairman of the executive committee of Bank of America; former chairman of the Augusta National Golf Club |
| Carol Keehan | 1980 | president and CEO of the Catholic Health Association of the United States |
| Larry Kellner | 1981 | chairman of the board and CEO of Continental Airlines |
| David A. King | 1983 | director of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center |
| Amy Leventer | 1982 | marine biologist, micropaleontologist, Antarctic researcher |
| Robert C. McNair | 1958 | owner of NFL franchise Houston Texans |
| Darla Moore | 1975 | financier, philanthropist, namesake of the Moore School of Business |
| Simona Hunyadi Murph | Ph.D. in Chemistry Nanotechnology 2007 | scientist, engineer, and inventor at Savannah River National Laboratory; adjunct professor at University of Georgia |
| Lois Privor-Dumm | 1988 | Director of Alliances and Information for PneumoADIP, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health |
| Jacob Shuford | 1974 | admiral and current president of the United States Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island, 2004–present |
| E. Lee Spence | 1976 | underwater archaeologist; discovered the wreck of the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley, 1970 |
| Glenn Tilton | 1970 | chairman, president, and CEO of United Airlines |
| Drew Van Horn | Ph.D. in educational administration | president of Young Harris College in Young Harris, Georgia since 2017; former president at Brevard College in Brevard, North Carolina, 2002–2011 |
| Samuel Phillips Verner | 1892 | American missionary and African explorer who brought Ota Benga the human exhibit from the Congo to the US |
| John Kenneth Waddell | 1988 | president of Denmark Technical College |
| Howard A. "Humpy" Wheeler, Jr. | 1961 | president of Charlotte Motor Speedway |

### Government, law, and politics

| Name | Class | Notes |
| Weston Adams | 1960 | U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Malawi; member of the South Carolina House of Representatives |
| Lee Atwater | 1977 | political consultant/strategist |
| André Bauer | | Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina |
| Stephen K. Benjamin | | Mayor of Columbia, South Carolina |
| Solomon Blatt, Sr. | 1917 | former longtime Speaker of the South Carolina House of Representatives |
| Solomon Blatt, Jr. | 1941 | former District Court judge |
| Lawrence Cain | 1876 Law | member of the South Carolina House of Representatives and the South Carolina Senate |
| Andrew Card | 1971 | former White House chief of staff for President George W. Bush |
| Wilbur Cave | | former member of the South Carolina House of Representatives |
| John E. Courson | | Republican member, South Carolina Senate |
| Allison Dahle | | Democratic member, North Carolina House of Representatives |
| Katon Dawson | 1979 | South Carolina Republican Party chairman |
| Julie Emerson | | Republican member, Louisiana House of Representatives, beginning 2016 |
| Tom Ervin | 1977 | Republican member, South Carolina House of Representatives |
| Alvin Greene | | Democratic nominee, United States Senate, 2010 |
| Terry Haskins | 1981 Law | member of the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1986 until his death in 2000 |
| Glenn F. McConnell | 1972 | South Carolina Senate president pro tempore |
| Edgar L. McGowan | 1961 | Commissioner of Labor of South Carolina |
| Hugh R. Miller | 1833 | member of the Mississippi House of Representatives 1842–1844; mortally wounded at the Battle of Gettysburg |
| Melvin Purvis | 1925 | FBI agent who helped capture 1930s gangsters John Dillinger, Pretty Boy Floyd, and Baby Face Nelson |
| Bakari Sellers | 2008 Law | member of the South Carolina House of Representatives (2006–2014) |
| Paris Simkins | 1876 | lawyer, minister, and member of the South Carolina House of Representatives (1872–1876) |
| Harry A. Slattery | 1944 | Undersecretary of the United States Department of the Interior, 1938–39, the so-called Slattery Report |
| Jean H. Toal | 1968 | chief justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court |
| William Henry Wallace | 1849 | Speaker of the South Carolina House of Representatives, Confederate States Army brigadier general, Circuit Judge (1877–1893) |
| Charles S. West | 1848 | Texas jurist and politician |
| Knox H. White | Law | Mayor of Greenville, 1995 – |

#### United States senators from South Carolina

| Name | Class year | Term in office | Notes |
| Christie Benet | 1902 | 1918 | also coach of the Gamecock football team |
| Coleman Livingston Blease | | 1925–1931 | expelled for plagiarism in 1888, did not graduate; also governor of South Carolina |
| Andrew Butler | 1817 | 1846–1857 | also an author of the Kansas-Nebraska Act |
| Matthew Butler | 1856 | 1877–1895 | attended in the late 1850s |
| Franklin H. Elmore | 1819 | 1850 | also United States Representative |
| Josiah J. Evans | 1808 | 1853–1858 | |
| Lindsey Graham | 1977 | 2003–present | also United States Representative |
| James Henry Hammond | 1825 | 1857–1860 | also governor of South Carolina and United States Representative |
| Wade Hampton III | 1836 | 1879–1891 | also governor of South Carolina |
| William Harper | 1808 | 1826 | also a jurist and social and political theorist |
| Ernest Hollings | 1947 | 1966–2005 | also governor of South Carolina |
| John W. Johnston | 1836 | 1870–1883 | also served in Virginia State Senate |
| Olin D. Johnston | 1924 | 1945–1965 | also governor of South Carolina |
| Alva M. Lumpkin | 1908 | 1941 | |
| George McDuffie | 1813 | 1842–1846 | also governor of South Carolina and United States Representative |
| Stephen Decatur Miller | 1808 | 1831–1833 | also governor of South Carolina and United States Representative |
| William P. Pollock | 1891 | 1918–1919 | |
| William C. Preston | 1812 | 1833–1842 | |
| Thomas J. Robertson | 1843 | 1868–1877 | |
| Donald S. Russell | 1925 | 1965–1966 | also governor of South Carolina, United States assistant secretary of state for Administration, and president of the University of South Carolina |
| Ellison D. Smith | | 1909–1944 | failed freshman year; did not graduate |
| Thomas A. Wofford | 1928 | 1956 | also graduate of the Harvard University Law School, 1931 |

#### United States representatives from South Carolina

| Name | Class year | Term in office | Notes |
| D. Wyatt Aiken | 1849 | 1877–1887 | |
| William Aiken Jr. | 1825 | 1851–1857 | also governor of South Carolina |
| Milledge Luke Bonham | 1834 | 1857–1860 | also governor of South Carolina |
| William Waters Boyce | | 1853–1860 | attended in the late 1830s; did not graduate |
| John Bratton | 1850 | 1884–1885 | |
| William H. Brawley | 1860 | 1891–1894 | |
| Preston Brooks | | 1853–1857 | expelled in 1839 for attempting to free his brother from prison; did not graduate |
| Joseph R. Bryson | 1920 | 1939–1953 | |
| Sampson H. Butler | | 1839–1842 | attended in the early 1820s; did not graduate |
| William Butler | 1810 | 1841–1843 | |
| Patrick C. Caldwell | 1820 | 1841–1843 | |
| Carroll A. Campbell, Jr. | | 1979–1987 | attended in the late 1950s; did not graduate |
| John Campbell | 1819 | 1837–1845 | |
| Robert B. Campbell | 1809 | 1823–1825 1834–1837 | |
| John Carter | 1811 | 1822–1829 | |
| William K. Clowney | 1818 | 1833–1835 1837–1839 | |
| William F. Colcock | 1823 | 1849–1853 | |
| Theodore G. Croft | 1897 | 1904–1905 | |
| Mendel Jackson Davis | 1970 | 1971–1981 | |
| Warren R. Davis | 1810 | 1827–1835 | |
| Butler Derrick | | 1975–1995 | |
| Frederick H. Dominick | | 1917–1933 | |
| J. Edwin Ellerbe | | 1905–1913 | |
| Franklin H. Elmore | 1819 | 1836–1839 | also United States senator |
| John H. Evins | 1853 | 1877–1884 | |
| David E. Finley | 1885 | 1899–1917 | |
| Allard H. Gasque | 1901 | 1923–1938 | |
| Andrew R. Govan | 1813 | 1822–1827 | |
| Lindsey Graham | 1977 | 1995–2003 | also United States senator |
| William J. Grayson | 1809 | 1833–1837 | |
| James Henry Hammond | 1825 | 1835–1836 | also United States senator and governor of South Carolina |
| James Butler Hare | 1947 | 1949–1951 | |
| John J. Hemphill | 1869 | 1883–1893 | |
| Robert W. Hemphill | 1936 | 1957–1964 | |
| Kenneth Lamar Holland | 1960 | 1975–1983 | |
| John Jenrette | 1962 | 1975–1980 | |
| Laurence M. Keitt | 1843 | 1853–1860 | |
| George Swinton Legaré | | 1903–1913 | |
| Hugh S. Legaré | 1814 | 1837–1839 | |
| Edward C. Mann | 1906 | 1919–1921 | |
| James Robert Mann | 1947 | 1969–1979 | |
| Richard Irvine Manning I | 1811 | 1834–1836 | also governor of South Carolina |
| George McDuffie | 1813 | 1821–1834 | also United States senator and governor of South Carolina |
| John L. McMillan | | 1939–1973 | |
| Thomas S. McMillan | 1912 | 1925–1939 | |
| John J. McSwain | 1897 | 1921–1936 | |
| Stephen Decatur Miller | 1808 | 1817–1819 | also United States senator and governor of South Carolina |
| George W. Murray | | 1893–1895 1896–1897 | attended in the early 1870s; did not graduate |
| John Light Napier | 1972 | 1981–1983 | |
| Wilson Nesbitt | | 1817–1819 | left after freshman year in 1805; did not graduate |
| William T. Nuckolls | 1820 | 1827–1833 | |
| Liz J. Patterson | | 1987–1993 | attended in the early 1960s; did not graduate |
| William H. Perry | | 1885–1891 | attended in the late 1850s; did not graduate |
| Francis Wilkinson Pickens | | 1834–1841 | attended in the late 1820s; did not graduate; also governor of South Carolina |
| Henry L. Pinckney | 1812 | 1833–1837 | |
| J. Willard Ragsdale | | 1913–1919 | |
| James P. Richards | 1921 | 1933–1957 | |
| John Peter Richardson II | 1819 | 1836–1839 | also governor of South Carolina |
| John S. Richardson | 1850 | 1879–1883 | |
| L. Mendel Rivers | | 1941–1970 | attended in the late 1920s; did not graduate |
| James Rogers | 1813 | 1835–1837 1839–1843 | |
| Eldred Simkins | 1802 (approx.) | 1818–1821 | also lieutenant governor of South Carolina (1812-1814); also member of the South Carolina State Senate (1810-1812) and South Carolina House of Representatives |
| Richard F. Simpson | 1816 | 1843–1849 | |
| Hugo S. Sims, Jr. | 1947 | 1949–1951 | |
| Floyd Spence | 1952 | 1971–2001 | |
| Robin Tallon | 1966 | 1987–1993 | |
| John C. Taylor | 1919 | 1933–1939 | |
| Waddy Thompson, Jr. | 1814 | 1835–1841 | |
| Samuel W. Trotti | 1832 | 1842–1843 | |
| Albert Watson | 1950 | 1963–1971 | |
| Joe Wilson | 1972 | 2001–present | |
| Joseph A. Woodward | | 1843–1853 | attended in the mid-1820s; did not graduate |

#### United States representatives and senators from other states

| Name | Class year | Term in office | Notes |
| Mark Anthony Cooper | 1819 | 1839–1841 1842–1843 | United States Representative from Georgia |
| David Funderburk | 1974 | 1995–1997 | United States Representative from North Carolina |
| Henry Washington Hilliard | 1826 | 1845–1851 | United States Representative from Alabama |
| John W. Johnston | | 1870–1883 | United States Senator from Virginia |
| Lewis Charles Levin | 1828 | 1845–1851 | United States Representative from Pennsylvania; first Jew elected to the United States Congress |
| Dixon Hall Lewis | 1820 | 1829–1844 H 1844–1848 S | United States Representative and United States Senator from Alabama |
| Louis Wigfall | 1837 | 1859–1861 | United States Senator from Texas |

#### Governors of South Carolina

| Name | Class year | Term in office | Notes |
| William Aiken Jr. | 1825 | 1844–1846 | also United States representative |
| David Beasley | 1979 | 1995–1999 | |
| Coleman Livingston Blease | | 1911–1915 | expelled for plagiarism in 1888; did not graduate; also United States senator |
| Milledge Luke Bonham | 1834 | 1862–1864 | also United States Representative |
| Carroll A. Campbell, Jr. | | 1987–1995 | attended in the late 1950s, did not graduate |
| John Drayton | | 1800–1802, 1808–1810 | also United States federal judge |
| John Geddes | | 1818–1820 | attended in the mid-1810s; did not graduate |
| William Henry Gist | | 1858–1860 | expelled in 1827; did not graduate |
| James Henry Hammond | 1825 | 1842–1844 | also a United States Senator and a United States Representative |
| Wade Hampton III | 1836 | 1877–1879 | also a United States Senator |
| Joseph Emile Harley | 1902 | 1941–1942 | |
| Jim Hodges | 1979 | 1999–2003 | |
| Ernest Hollings | 1947 | 1959–1963 | also United States Senator |
| Richard Manning Jefferies | 1910 | 1942–1943 | |
| Thomas Bothwell Jeter | 1846 | 1880 | |
| David Johnson | | 1846–1848 | attended in the late 1820s; did not graduate |
| Olin D. Johnston | 1924 | 1935–1939 1943–1945 | also United States Senator |
| Andrew Gordon Magrath | 1831 | 1864–1865 | |
| John Lawrence Manning | 1836 | 1852–1854 | |
| Richard Irvine Manning I | 1811 | 1824–1826 | also United States Representative |
| George McDuffie | 1813 | 1834–1836 | also United States Senator and a United States Representative |
| Henry McMaster | 1973 | 2017–incumbent | also South Carolina Attorney General and lieutenant governor of South Carolina |
| Robert Evander McNair | 1947 | 1965–1971 | |
| John Hugh Means | 1832 | 1850–1852 | |
| Stephen Decatur Miller | 1808 | 1828–1830 | also United States Senator and United States Representative |
| Franklin J. Moses, Jr. | | 1872–1874 | dismissed from freshman class in 1855; did not graduate |
| Francis Wilkinson Pickens | | 1860–1862 | attended in the late 1820s; did not graduate; also United States Representative |
| John Peter Richardson II | 1819 | 1840–1842 | also United States Representative |
| John Peter Richardson III | 1849 | 1886–1890 | |
| Richard Riley | 1959 | 1979–1987 | also U.S. Secretary of Education |
| Donald S. Russell | 1925 | 1963–1965 | also United States Senator |
| William Dunlap Simpson | 1843 | 1879–1880 | |
| George Bell Timmerman, Jr. | 1937 | 1955–1959 | |
| John C. West | 1946 | 1971–1975 | |

#### Governors of other states

| Name | Class year | Term in office | Notes |
| John B. Floyd | 1829 | 1849–1852 | Governor of Virginia |
| John Gayle | 1815 | 1831–1835 | Governor of Alabama |
| Charles James McDonald | 1816 | 1839–1843 | Governor of Georgia |
| William McWillie | 1817 | 1857–1859 | Governor of Mississippi |
| John Murphy | 1808 | 1825–1829 | Governor of Alabama |

#### Military

| Name | Class year | Notes |
| John Bratton | 1850 | Confederate general during the American Civil War |
| Matthew Butler | | attended in the late 1850s; did not graduate; Confederate general during the American Civil War |
| James Ronald Chalmers | 1851 | Confederate general during the American Civil War |
| John B. Floyd | 1829 | Confederate general during the American Civil War and Governor of Virginia |
| Kathryn Frost | 1970 | major general in the U.S. Army, at the time the highest-ranked woman in the Army, retired 2005 |
| Martin Witherspoon Gary | | attended in the early 1850s; did not graduate; Confederate general during the American Civil War |
| John W. Goodwin | 1975 | rear admiral, United States Navy, retired |
| Maxcy Gregg | 1835 | Confederate general during the American Civil War |
| Wade Hampton III | 1836 | Confederate general during the American Civil War, governor of South Carolina and United States senator |
| Alexander Cheves Haskell | 1860 | Confederate colonel during the American Civil War |
| Samuel McGowan | 1841 | Confederate general during the American Civil War |
| Jacob L. Shuford | 1974 | admiral and president of the Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island, 2004–2008 |
| John A. Wharton | 1850 | Confederate general during the American Civil War |
| Knox H. White | Law school | mayor of Greenville, 1995– |

### Religion and ministry

| Name | Class year | Notes |
| Stephen Elliott | 1825 | first bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia |
| Terrell Glenn | 1980 | bishop in the Anglican Church in North America |
| Bryant Wright | 1974 | president of the Southern Baptist Convention |

## Faculty and administrators

| Name | Years | Notes | Reference |
| Charles Bierbauer | 2002–present | former CNN senior Washington correspondent | |
| Claire Jiménez | | author, McCausland Faculty Fellow | |

### Former faculty and administrators

| Name | Years | Notes |
| Edward Porter Alexander | 1867–1870 | also chief of artillery in the Army of Northern Virginia under General Robert E. Lee and mathematics professor |
| Augusta Braxton Baker | 1980–1994 | librarian and storyteller |
| Robby Benson | 1988–1990 | actor |
| W. Lewis Burke | | professor of law, historian of American race relations, and Black studies |
| Thomas Cooper | 1819–1834 | educator, philosopher, and political leader |
| James Dickey | 1969–1997 | poet and novelist; author of Deliverance |
| Walter Edgar | 1972–2012 | South Carolina historian |
| Donald Fowler | 1966–1968 1971–2020 | former chairman of the Democratic National Committee |
| Lawrence B. Glickman | 1992–2014 | historian of American consumerism |
| Richard Theodore Greener | 1873–1877 | first Black person to graduate from Harvard University and first to teach at the University of South Carolina |
| Alexander Cheves Haskell | 1867–1868 | professor of law |
| John LeConte | 1856–1869 | geologist |
| Joseph LeConte | 1856–1870 | geologist |
| Francis Lieber | 1835–1856 | jurist and political philosopher |
| John McLaren McBryde | 1882–1888 | Virginia Tech president |
| Abioseh Nicol | 1990–1991 | author, diplomat from Sierra Leone; former under-secretary general of the United Nations |
| Jihan Sadat | 1985–1986 | widow of Anwar Sadat |
| Emory M. Sneeden | 1978–1982 | United States Court of Appeals Judge |
| Richard L. Walker | 1957–1981 | former United States ambassador to South Korea |

## Honorary degree recipients

| Name | Year issued | Notes |
| John Drayton | 1807 | Governor of South Carolina; pushed for the foundation of South Carolina College to unite the state |
| Moses Waddel | 1807 | educator in South Carolina and Georgia |
| Thomas Cooper | 1833 | President of the University of South Carolina |
| Robert Woodward Barnwell | 1842 | President of the University of South Carolina |
| Thomas Green Clemson | 1886 | agriculturalist |
| Ellison Capers | 1888 | Confederate general during the American Civil War |
| Joseph B. Kershaw | 1893 | Confederate general during the American Civil War |
| Hugh Smith Thompson | 1900 | Governor of South Carolina |
| James F. Byrnes | | Governor of South Carolina |
| Helen Hayes | 1979 | actress |